Embrace Your Empathy

Justin

CAA is happy to welcome Jennifer Swick to our Board of Directors. Let’s get to know her!

Jennifer first became aware of the issues with animal agriculture about fifteen years ago at the Living Green Expo. A group there was doing pay-per-view outreach, showing people how animals suffer on factory farms. Jennifer describes it as one of those life-changing moments, when you’re introduced to a whole new reality that you didn’t know existed. “Oh, this is the world I’m living in!”

That intense awakening planted a seed of awareness that continued to grow in the years that followed. Then about four years ago, Jennifer became friends with a bona fide vegan. She had never before known a vegan personally, but in knowing one got to see how easy and doable it is to eat only plant-based foods. Pretty soon, she was taking action for animals: cutting animal products out of her diet and getting involved with CAA as a volunteer.

Her first activities with CAA were leafleting and pay-per-view outreach. Pay-per-view has a special place in her heart since since it’s what originally opened her eyes to this cause. She also keeps the Roseville library stocked with vegetarian starter kits. Apparently, they go like hotcakes there!

Her favorite volunteer activity has been helping out with Bridges of Respect, CAA’s humane education program. She started by assisting with presentations and now leads them. The program is a good match for her background in education, since she served for ten years as the education director at a large church in Minnetonka.

For the past seven years, Jennifer has worked at People Serving People, helping families experiencing homelessness. You might wonder, how has working with these families influenced Jennifer’s approach to vegan advocacy?

Jennifer says that when someone in a crisis mode, lacking basic necessities such as food and shelter, it’s not the right time to contemplate making big life changes. Instead, she advises that if we want to engage with economically disadvantaged populations, the focus should be on making fresh fruits and veggies available. For instance, it’s a really positive development that farmer’s markets now accept EBT cards.

This is a very important perspective to consider if we want to engage diverse communities through our work, and we’re especially grateful to have someone with specialized experience in this area joining the board.

And what excites Jennifer most about being on the board? The people. She’s found the leadership at CAA to be very inspiring, and being a part of the team is good way to continue to learn from others. Also, she likes thinking about the big picture, and being on the board gives an opportunity to help shape the future of the organization. Plus, it’s an especially exciting time to get involved with the executive director transition happening in December.

Along with all of the amazing work Jennifer does for animals and for people, she loves tennis, ultimate frisbee, biking, and reading. She’s a big fan of Trader Joe’s Three Layer Hummus and will happily order the mock sesame chicken from Evergreen Chinese Restaurant.

Jennifer says she grateful to be a part of CAA and that this community is really a gift. Well, we feel the same about having her on board, sharing her many gifts with all of us and for the animals.

Do you live on or near the campus of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cites? Are you wondering where you can find vegan food in the area that tastes good and won’t break the bank? Whether you’re looking for full meals or quick snacks, look no further!

This list was compiled by some of our very own student volunteers who live on or near campus. Their recommendations come from their firsthand experience dining at these vegan-friendly spots.

When your hunger kicks in, give one of these places a whirl, and be sure to thank the restaurant managers for having awesome vegan options!

There are many vegan bagels here, such as the olive oil rosemary, which is delicious. They have hummus as a topping and also sell it in tubs—perfect if you’re getting a dozen bagels to go. They also sometimes have a vegan soup option.

Dinkytown

Delicious vegan baked goods and good coffee with nondairy milk! Most options are available in the morning before the usual coffee rush that happens before and between classes. In other words, get there early if you want the most selection!

They offer amazing veggie dishes over rice or in wraps, and the sauces are divine. You can also choose to add fresh uncooked veggies, and they also offer salads like their pickle salad and tabouli. Favorites includes chana masala, falafel sandwiches, and pyazi, which are veggies fried in dough.

They have amazing falafel, and for the falafel sandwiches, you have the option to add pickles! Try the deluxe falafel sandwich that has french fries in it. Also, the baba ghanoush, hummus and pita, and tabouli are all very good.

West Bank

Lots of good stuff! Try the falafel and falafel sandwiches but make sure to order without yogurt sauce and other dairy ingredients. Also, the sambusas, french fries, sweet potato fries, Somali tea, vegetarian platter, and veggie keke are fantastic.

Everything is vegetarian, and the vegan items are clearly marked and the staff is knowledgeable. The vegan biscuits and gravy are very popular. Also, their vegan baked goods are out of this world. Sometimes, they’ve got vegan donuts and decadent cupcakes, and often they’ve got huge muffins (like a meal in itself) for just $2.50.

Comfort food central with a very vegan-friendly menu. They have amazing tater tots, vegan Chicago dog, and po’boy. It’s a great place for brunch, with options including vegan pancakes, french toast, and tofu scramble. Appetizers are discounted during happy hour!

St. Paul

A good spot to get snacks between classes! They offer Alternative Baking Company cookies, Holy Land hummus and pita, and Amy’s nondairy burritos. They currently have a vegan hotdog on very specific days, but that may change—as the staff for details!

Vegan options include falafel, hummus and pita, baba ghanoush, and fries. You can also get a veggie burrito, but just make sure to ask for no cheese or sour cream.

Thanks to all of our student volunteers who contributed to this article with their recommendations!

And of course one place to find lots of vegan food on campus will be Twin Cities Veg Fest on October 29 and 30, 2016 at Coffman Memorial Union. The event is free to attend, and there will be lots of free vegan food samples as well as larger meals available for purchase. Join us there!

The Minnesota State Fair is a local tradition for many. This annual festival is known for its decadent foods, usually deep-fried and served on a stick. Most of these foods are known not to be vegan, for example: cheese curds, deep-fried Twinkies, and corn dogs.

For those of us who choose to only eat plant-based foods, what can we do? Do we avoid the fair altogether? No way! If the fair is something you enjoy, you can still enjoy it, finding plenty of awesome vegan offerings to satisfy your hunger along the way. And yes, some of these vegan offerings are even served deep-fried and on a stick.

A couple years ago, we published a guide to vegan food at the fair. You can check that out, as much of it still applies, but this year we put out a call to all of our volunteers going to the fair and asked them to let us know what they could find. We got a number of beautiful photos and fun descriptions that we’ll share with you here. Take a look at the photo collage, read the descriptions, and bring this list with you when you go to the fair in the next few days.

Our fundraiser for Twin Cities Veg Fest has made fantastic strides in the last few days, and we’ve just surpassed our original goal of $4,500! Including contributions made by check through the mail, our grand total is now at $5,553. Wow! Huge thanks to all of our supporters for your generosity.

In case you haven’t donated yet, there’s still time to give! Please help us reach our stretch goal of $6,000 by August 31. While $6,000 might sound like a lot of money for the festival, it’s just a fraction of what it costs to put on an event like this, especially now that we are expanding it to two days.

With your support, this year’s Twin Cities Veg Fest can reach more people and show them how a compassionate life can be fun, uplifting, and most certainly delicious. Please give today!

As you may have heard, after five years of dedicated service, Unny Nambudiripad is moving on from his post as executive director at Compassionate Action for Animals. We wish him well on his continuing journey and look forward to appointing a highly qualified individual who can carry on this important position, overseeing all facets of our organization and providing inspiring and effective leadership.

Have you heard? The fifth annual Twin Cities Veg Fest will be held at Coffman Memorial Union on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, 2016. That’s not just one, but two days of compassionate fun!

We’ve just launched a crowdsourcing campaign to help us raise money for the festival, and your support could help us reach our goal.Can you make a contribution of $25, $50, or $100? We welcome donations of any amount to help us reach our goal by August 31. Give today and help make Twin Cities Veg Fest great!

A bunch of us from CAA recently attended the Animals Right National Conference in Los Angeles. We spent four days attending informative and inspirational sessions, networking with others in the animal protection movement, and enjoying some of the great vegan eats that LA has to offer. As the cherry on top this vegan ice cream sundae, on the day after the conference concluded, many of us went on a tour of Farm Santuary. Meeting the rescued animals was perhaps the ultimate inspiration.

Having been to the conference twice before, I was eager for new information. As someone who works full-time for CAA, I’m routinely immersed in our mission, and I was most interested in being exposed to different perspectives, particularly those that include more confrontational approaches to activism. For this reason, I attended talks by Lauren Gazzola, who advocates for not avoiding “looking bad” as vegan, and Wayne Hsiung, who leads the controversial Direct Action Everywhere. Hearing these other viewpoints was enriching, as it gave me an opportunity to better understand the spectrum of approaches to animal advocacy and social justice.

In addition, I was especially motivated hearing Dr. Melanie Joy speak on the subject of sustainable activism and how to nurture a resilient organization. That information I will surely make use of, not only for myself, but also as a way to support our volunteers.

Each of us who attended the conference got something different out of it, and each of us brings back some unique inspiration that will surely infuse our Twin Cities community with a renewed approach to advocating for farmed animals. Here’s a glimpse of what some of our volunteers and other staff members experienced at the 2016 Animal Rights National Conference:

AmyLeo bonds with Jimmy at Farm Sanctuary

Transformation and Inspiration
by AmyLeo Barankovich

I found the conference to be fun, rejuvenating, comprehensive, inclusive, and sophisticated. After advocating for animals in near-isolation for two decades, I’ve recently reentered the animal rights community. In the past few years, I’ve seen glimpses of the movement’s transformation. This conference has given me even more awareness of this progress and has restored my hope in how humans are reinventing our relationship with animals. I am grateful for finding inspiration to return to public advocacy, which will surely enhance my work as a humane educator and vegan chef.

The 91-Year-Old Vegan
by Kathleen Keene

One of the most memorable moments for me was meeting a 91-year-old Dutch woman who came to the CAA table. She had been vegan all her life because her father suddenly didn’t want to eat animals anymore, and that caused quite an upheaval in the family. Eventually, she and her whole family eschewed eating animals altogether. And she was quite spry for 91! At the end of our chat, I gave her a knuffel, which is Dutch for hug!

Dave with Paolo at Farm Sanctuary

Networking, the Future of Food, and the Animals Themselves
by Dave Rolsky

The best thing about the conference is always the people. I go each year to connect with others in the movement and learn more about what they’re up to. The session I found most exciting was a panel discussing the future of food, specifically cultured meat, egg whites produced by yeast, and meat alternatives. Finally, visiting Farm Sanctuary after the conference was a good reminder of why our work is so important. Meeting individual animals reminds me of all the other animals suffering in factory farms who need our help.

Brita and Grace at the 2016 Animal Rights National Conference

Renewed Hope in a Violent World
by Brita Bengtson

I think we can all agree that 2016 has been tough. I entered the conference wondering if it’s worth working for any cause in such a violent world. I left the conference uplifted by new knowledge of all the progress being made for farmed animals: new outreach technology (Animal Equality’s iAnimal project), new food technology (plant-based and clean meats that don’t require any animal use), legislative victories, and much more. I’m hopeful again that we may someday achieve peace for all beings.

The blog also lists all of the thirteen businesses in the Twin Cities that offer only vegan products as well as a list of eleven of the finalists, veg-friendly businesses that offer a great selection of outstanding vegan options. Though these finalists didn’t win the award, we wanted to be sure people know about them and support them.

Of course, the real winner is our community. This shift toward having more vegan options in the marketplace is undeniably gaining momentum, and we take it as a sign of great things to come. This consumer demand for more vegan products means fewer animal products being purchased and, ultimately, fewer animals suffering.

We can feel like we’re winning in that regard, for sure! And if you’d like to celebrate, I hope you’ll join us for our next festive event, Summer Soirée: A Benefit for Twin Cities Veg Fest on Wednesday, July 27 from 7 to 10pm at the award-winning Reverie Cafe + Bar. This is a great way to support Twin Cities Veg Fest, celebrate with the community, and enjoy all the amazing vegan nosh that Reverie has to offer. Reserve your tickets today!

Check it out! This fantastic animation was created by Sydney Terwey, Cade Isaacs, and Hai Lo, who were all students at The Art Institutes International of Minnesota. They used their time and talents to share their enthusiasm for Twin Cities Veg Fest, and we love what they came up with.

After helping to create this animation, Sydney went on to intern with us at CAA in the spring of 2016. We’re very grateful for all that she contributed to the organization during that time.

Twin Cities Veg Fest 2016 will take place on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, from 11am to 4pm each day.Share this video and let your friends that they can now save the dates for this fun festival!

Compassionate Action for Animals is pleased to announce the winners of our first annual Twin Cities Veggie Awards!

We’ve created this program to recognize Twin Cities businesses that support the compassionate community by offering outstanding vegan products. We want to acknowledge and thank them for their service, and we want to be sure that you know about them. We encourage you to give your support to these exceptional veg-friendly establishments so that they continue to thrive.

Here are the winners of the 2016 Twin Cities Veggie Awards along with a testimonial from each of our five panelists. Drum roll please…